Stakeout
by CherryJay8
Summary: Someone's been stealing their stuff - giving the Ninja each different reactions to this situation. But Jay has came up with a plan to catch the thief... that plan is, a stakeout! Filled with humor and family/friendship!
1. Chapter 1

**Stakeout - a Ninjago Short Story**

The door slammed wide open and Kai stood there, his hair looking less spiky.

"What's up?" Jay asked, hands under his head as he rested on his bunk - the top one.

 _"What's up?"_ Kai closed the door behind him and collapsed onto Cole's bunk - the bunk below Jay's. "Dude! Someone took my hair gel… and then they just greased it all over my extra clothes!"

"Ah pffhhhhh, what? That's the lamest trick ever -" Kai glared at Jay from below. "You think I did it" Jay asked with wide blue eyes. His mouth twisted and he sat up on the bed, jumping off.

Kai followed Jay out the door. "Well obviously, yeah."

"Come on, I couldn't have done it. At least, to you that is. Someone's been stealing my box of batteries! And I need them if I want to play video games!" Jay stumbled into the Bridge and he spotted Zane sitting at the table, staring at the cover of a book.

Zane lifted his arm and opened the panel, inputting something into his arm. Once he was finished, he turned to look to Kai and Jay. "Someone has been stealing your things? I too have lost an item. My oil can. If I do not get it back in time, my gears may very well lock up more often than usual."

The two ninja nodded and they took a seat with Zane at the table.

"You think you might know who took our stuff?"

"Perhaps, Lloyd?" Zane suggested.

"The kid's too busy reading comics. No way would he have been stealing my hair gel."

Everyone went deep into thought. Then, suddenly, a light bulb went off above Jay's head and it clicked.

"None of us have checked with Cole yet!"

He quickly stood up and ran out onto the deck, finding Cole, not training, but hitting the rail with his scythe instead. Jay stared immobile.

Talk about taking your anger out.

Cole gave the rails a few more hits with the blade and then pinned his scythe upward, leaning against it. He began to breath heavily, his brows furrowed in.

"Did you take it?"

Jay's fingers tingled. "Uhhh, what was it exactly that was taken?"

"My workbook - I mean sketchbook!" He turned around, a hint of relief in his eyes. Jay blinked.

"Noooooo?"

Kai then knocked into Jay and gripped the blue ninja for support. He peered over Jay's shoulder and looked to Cole.

"You too? We need to find this thief."

Another idea popped into Jay's head and he whipped around, a spark in his wide eyes. "I got it! Stakeout!"

Cole shook his head, letting his scythe fall carelessly to the ground. "A stakeout? You want us to stay up till night falls and hope to catch the thief then?"

Jay nodded with excitement. "It'll be fun! And we'll split into pairs. Although, one of us will be alone. Kai, you can night watch with Lloyd - whenever the little brat comes around. And I can stay up on guard duty with Cole!"

Kai shrugged. "Sounds pretty ideal. Looks like Zane will be out at it alone?" Another nod.

Jay wrapped an arm around Cole's neck and pulled him down a bit. "This is gonna be so fun!"

Slowly pulling away, Cole let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, okay, so, Jay and I will take the deck. Kai, you and Lloyd take the Bridge and the kitchen. And Zane will take the hallway to the rooms."

The fire ninja pumped his fist. "Then it's settled. Let the stakeout begin!"

"Soon... soon, Kai," Jay added.

* * *

Kai looked through the circular door window and at the jar of gel sitting in the dresser by the picture frame. He pursed his lips, wanting to drop at the thought of using his last jar of gel for bait.

The green ninja put a hand on Kai's arm and turned him around. "Stay on the lookout," he told Kai, pulling over his large hood for the fun of it.

"Yeah, let's get to the important stuff," he moved his flashlight up and down the hallway, "Alright then, let's head to the Bridge, Zane should get here any minute now. ." Kai led Lloyd towards the kitchen and he quickly flashed his light. Once he was done with that he opened the sliding doors to the main room.

Lloyd pulled out his flashlight and flicked it on too. He gazed around the room as silence drowned in. It was eerie when you search a room that's pitch black with a single flashlight. He moved his arm until he accidentally shone the light in Kai's eyes, as Kai did the same to him.

They stumbled backwards.

"Agh! Really?!" Kai scoffed, rubbing his eyes.

The boy shrugged and gave Kai a cocky grin. "Oops."

Kai slowly walked up to the door to the deck and peeked through the windows, seeing Jay make a fool of himself in the middle of the night.

Cole pinched in between his eyes and sighed. He flickered the light at Jay three times, on and off.

"Jay, what the heck are you doing?"

"Spinnin', moving my legs…" He inched closer to the frustrated black ninja, "Dancin'..."

Cole snatched the flashlight from Jay's noodle arms and hopped onto the rail. "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, don't let your guard down," Cole told Jay, shining the flashlights at the wooden floorboards.

He always admired Jay's optimism and how lame his jokes were. He'd known Jay since Sensei Wu first brought him to the Monastery. But most times - a lot of times - he hoped that Jay would keep his blabbering mouth shut and just focus for once. The kid was into way to many video games, and had a love for junk food, while he was into cake and sweets. Cole turned around to find Jay had stopped his dance.

"Are you focused now?" He asked Jay.

The Blue Ninja took the flashlight from Cole's hand and looked at Cole with a cocky grin.

"Depends what you think."


	2. Chapter 2

**Stakeout - PART 2**

The light from the fridge nearly blinded Kai as he opened the door. He gazed into the large cooler, looking for something tasty to have for the late night watch. His stomach growled.

"You're hungry? At this hour?" Lloyd asked Kai, trying his best at making shadow puppets.

Kai frowned. "Most likely." He closed the fridge and went straight to the cupboards. He reached in and pulled out a box of cookies. "You like cookies?" He held out the box to Lloyd.

The boy shook his head. "I'm just tired. Why can't we go to sleep? It's not like we'll catch the thief during our first night." Unaware of his arm in the cookie box, Lloyd groaned. The red ninja smirked of satisfaction.

"Guess you did want a snack," he quirked his shoulders and took a seat on top of the table, letting his flashlight sit by his side. He looked to Lloyd. "You may be right though, we may not catch the thief just yet – but we might get a few clues to whom it is."

Lloyd nodded.

"I just want my hair gel back. Say, what did you lose?"

Lloyd's head perked up and he caught the curiosity in Kai's eyes. "I uh, well to be honest, nothing. I was reading comic books. And they're all still here."

Kai jumped off the table and picked up a walkie – talkie that Jay had built for each pair. Pressing down on the button, spoke into it:

"Hey, Zane, mind checking in the bedroom to see if Lloyd's comics are still there?"

 _"Of course, Kai."_

They waited in silence, Kai crunching down on the cookies as every minute passed.

A buzz came in and Kai picked up the talkie. _"I only see one comic. How many were there to begin with?"_

Lloyd's jaw dropped and he ran up to Kai, reaching for the talkie. Just now was he losing his comics? "Zane? Zane! There were 5 copies in total! And now there's only one!?" He panicked, walking around the kitchen.

Kai set down the walkie – talkie and signaled for Lloyd's attention. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find that crook and make him – or she – pay!"

 _"Speaking of_ she _, where is your sister, Kai?"_ Zane asked.

* * *

"Cole, I don't like this."

"Like what?"

"It's dark – and, and it's freaking me out!"

"Well then turn on your flashlight, genius!"

The light flicked on and Jay found himself held up against the rail. "Hey, it was your idea for a stakeout." Cole brought up, shining the light in Jay's eyes. Jay clawed at the air, then jumped out of the beam, blinking stubbornly.

"Give me a reason I should hate you," Cole said towards Jay, tossing the flashlight from one hand to the other. "I mean, this idea, it's great and all, but it's also kind of pointless."

"How would this be pointless? It's fun! Right? You're having fun… right?"

"Not at the moment – but think about it, if the no good criminal were to be one of us, don't you think they wouldn't try and steal stuff on this very night?"

Jay rubbed his chin, then gasped loudly. He walked up to Cole and looked him straight in the eyes. "You're not saying you're the thief… are you?"

Cole pushed Jay away. "No. No I'm not. You saw how I reacted when I lost my sketchbook! And plus, if I were the thief, you think I'd come out here and night watch with you? I thought it was sort of a good idea, but I guess you're just here now, accusing me of the situation!"

Seeing the frustration in Cole's eyes made Jay reconsider his words. "Okay, okay, fine I'm sorry… heeeey, you know who we haven't checked in with yet? Zane! He's got no partner on the night watch, and he said through the walkie – talkie when he went to check on Lloyd's comics, that they're missing!"

Cole reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out the talkie. "Hey, Zane, how's everything going?"

 _"I am fine, Cole."_

"That's nice, mmm, yeah, that's nice…"

 _"Jay? Is that you? Is there something you wanted to tell or ask me?"_

"Aw, no. Everything's fine here. Say, Zane, did you say that Lloyd's comic books were missing? All but one?"

 _"Yes, precisely. Are you pointing fingers at me? Because if so, I will have you know that I surely did not steal anyone's belongings."_

Jay stuffed the walkie – talkie closer to his mouth. "Come on, Zane! Admit it!" Cole shoved Jay to the side and picked up the walkie – talkie.

"Sorry, Zane. Jay just thought…"

 _"It is fine. I understand why he would think that -"_ and Zane cut off right at that very moment.

Cole shot Jay a death glare and then felt his body growing tired. He rubbed his eyes, his vision of Jay moving from side to side. "Jay, it's getting late," he told him, lowering his flashlight. "Can we please go to bed?"

"No! Night 1 is not over yet! Just a few more hours!"

* * *

Zane scoured the dim hallway, shining his headlight up and down. He looked at the wall clock and checked the time. It was exactly 2 o'clock AM. He sighed, thinking that Jay's idea wasn't a very clever one. But if he just wanted to have fun, then Zane understood perfectly.

He felt his gears slowly getting stiff, so he quickly rushed to the bedroom to take out the stash of oil that he managed to hide. Whoever was stealing their stuff had to stop…

He then noticed something quickly rush past him. All he saw was a black blur. Getting closer to where he had noticed the movement, he bent down and shone the light on his first clue.

Here's a hint:

It was black.

* * *

 **A/N so I don't have an official update schedule... So Yerp.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stakeout - PART 3**

* * *

They were all huddled around the table in the kitchen, leaving no room for Nya and Sensei Wu. Nya crossed her arms and looked at Kai with a sad look.

"Where do we eat?" She asked grumpily.

Kai motioned around the room. "The room's big enough for all seven of us!" He shrugged helplessly and put his head back in with the others. "Okay, so did any of us find anything?"

Jay shook his head, then gazed down at Cole, whose head was rested on his arms which were on top of the table – lack of sleep. He had fallen asleep just minutes before the Stakeout was officially over.

"I saw a movement," Zane spoke up.

Everyone turned their attention to Zane.

"And… I found a clue. But I do not have it with me at the moment."

Jay groaned and pulled the ends of his hair. "Come on, Zane! I wanna catch this no gooder! I'm getting sick of losing stuff!"

"Ahem! I'm still here! And I want to eat!" Nya complained, standing behind Kai. She tapped her foot impatiently and waited, the anger boiling right out of her.

"Okay! Okay, we'll move to the _Bridge_ ," Lloyd told Nya, hoping it would relieve her temper. He stood up, as did the others. Well, all except Cole. The Blue ninja thinned his lips and he poked Cole's back.

"Cole," he whispered loudly. He then poked again. "Cooole!"

Kai shot Jay a glare and he walked out of the kitchen, Lloyd and Zane trailing behind him.

Jay shook Cole and just then, Cole's eyelids began to flutter open and he lifted his head slowly. "What? What are we talking about?" He looked around, his eyes glazed.

"We're not talking about anything. So get your butt in the _Bridge_!"

Cole, still in a daze, stood up and wobbled over to the wall for support. "Aye, Zappy," he laughed, staring straight through Jay. The master of lightning's lips thinned as a reaction to the annoying name Cole had called him.

Meanwhile, in the _Bridge_ , Kai relaxed back in his chair and put his feet up on the table. "Are we doing another stakeout tonight?"

"Why? You sound like you hate it," Lloyd smirked, holding close to him his only comic book left.

"Eh, I find it kinda fun. It's ya know, mysterious and daring to stay up until late into the night and wait for the unknown!" Kai flinched when he heard a loud thump. He poked his head over Lloyd's head and winced when he saw Jay lying on the floor.

Quickly running over, he helped his fellow team member up and grinned. "Why'd you choose to sleep on the floor, Jay? Was the bed not comfy enough?"

"Ha. Ha ha ha haah! But no. I fell, obviously!" He dusted at his pants and pursed his lips. "Cole's dead tired. He literally can't talk or walk right."

"Well," Kai started, but paused for a low sigh, "Guess he's your problem..."

"Me? Me? Why me? Out of all people, why me?"

Kai shrugged. "I dunno, maybe because of the fact that you're the one who kept him up the whole night?"

Zane walked between the two and he held out his palms in their faces. "Please do not start fighting. That reminds me, we have a grocery list we have to complete."

Jay looked at Kai with a brow raised. Mouthing the words I dunno, he looked over Zane's shoulder, and scanned over the list.

"Heh, it doesn't seem like too much to handle. I'll take care of it!" Kai volunteered, snatching the list from Zane's hands. "Just give me at least half an hour and I'll be back before you can even say _Fi-yah_!"

Sprinting out of the Bounty, Jay stared blankly.

" _Fire_."

And Kai wasn't back yet.

* * *

"I hate you," Cole murmured, sleeping under the blanket.

Jay yawned and leaned against Cole's back. He too was getting sleepy, but he didn't want to end up in a bed and wake up at 10 PM only to find that he slept for almost the entire day.

"Get out of the room," Cole growled softly.

"Too bad, I can't. I'm supposed to stay in here until you wake up – however by the looks of it, you sound like you're awake."

"I'm not. Get out."

Jay put his arms behind his head.

Annoyed, Cole pulled the covers over his head and he scooted further away from Jay. Jay fell backwards and slammed his head on Cole's spine. "Welp..." He frowned and sat back up.

The room fell silent for a while and Jay's eyes darted from each side of the room. Finally he spoke up, "I'm very disappointed in Kai, you know? He told us he'd be back before you could even say the word _fire_ and right when I said it, he didn't come back."

All Cole said was: Mmmhmm

* * *

"Let's see, bread, milk, cookies, and apples," Kai looked up from his list and took his first step into the supermarket. He swiped up a basket and threw in the list, heading straight towards the produce isle. He stuffed in a bundle of apples and picked up one orange for himself.

From there, he left to get the bread and box of chocolate chip cookies. Once he got to the isle, he saw that there was only one cookie box left sitting on the shelf. He quickly dropped his basket and sprinted for it, his arms outstretched. He dove at the bottom shelf and finally, his fingers wrapped themselves around the box. But, as he tried to pull it back, he realized that someone else had grabbed it too.

Kai looked to the side and saw a young girl, about 5 years old, holding onto the box. Kai panicked.

"Hey, Mister! I touched the box first!" She yelled at him, pulling the box, but Kai still held on.

"Eh, no no, listen, kid, I got it first. Please don't be mad, but I really need this box." He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Oh yeah? What for?" The kid smirked. She grinned at him evilly, her pigtails teasing Kai.

Kai used one arm to reach behind him and pull something random off the shelf. "Here, kid, how about you just take this..." He grazed his eyes over the box, "This... Animal crackers!"

The girl smacked them out of Kai's hands and she stuck her tongue out. "Bleh, I hate animal crackers! Gimme the cookies!" Kai, licked his lips, he had had enough of this brat. He just wanted to go home. So, he pulled hard and tumbled backwards, as did the girl.

She sat up and frowned at Kai, sniffing. "Mommy!" She began to cry.

Kai bit his lip and picked himself up, rushing over to the little girls aid. "Ah! No no, don't call for your mommy! Here, just take the cookies, I can get them some other time!" He insisted, stuffing the box in her arms.

Smirking, the girl stood up and then giggled. "Thanks, Mister! I'll be sure to repay you next time we meet!" She smiled and began to walk away. Kai stared, jaw drop. He had just been fooled by a little girl. Then, she turned around and said, "Hey, Mister, is that your basket?" Then, she left.

Kai turned around and saw that someone was picking up his basket. He quickly made it to the person.

"Oh, sorry bout that, but that's my basket," he ran his fingers through his hair, his face red. "Sorry!" He called to the person as he walked away.

* * *

When night fell, Zane walked outside onto the deck, with a flashlight in his hands.

"I will night watch outside, this time around," Zane told Cole and Jay as he took their places. He stood perfectly dead in the middle of the deck and waited there patiently.

So far, he knew that their thief was clothed in black. It could be any one of them, cause as far as he knew, any of them could dress in black - even Cole. But he decided that Cole could easily be eliminated from the list of choices, since he fell asleep.

He flicked on the light and flashed it up and down, hoping to gain more clues on who the thief might possibly be.

* * *

 **A/N Yessss, ends right here. Guess you'll just have to wait till the next chapter! So, everyone has switched places during Night 2 by the way, just a heads up. Kai and Lloyd now have the bedrooms as Zane did, and Cole and Jay have the kitchen.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4 Star Wars

**Stakeout - PART 4**

* * *

Lloyd had taken his efforts of protection a little too far, since he had brought his comic book with him on the Stakeout.

Lloyd wished he had got to stay guarding the kitchen. His stomach rumbled and he frowned, patting his empty stomach. He looked over at Kai, who was looking through one of the bedroom circular windows on his tip toes.

"Just checking to see if my sis is still in there," Kai told Lloyd, getting back down on flat fleet.

He then decided to buzz in Zane to see if his robot friend was having any luck with finding a clue.

 _"Hey Zane, have you found anything yet?"_ Kai asked him.

Zane replied swiftly. _"Unfortunately, no. How about you?"_

 _"Same here… I don't have a single clue though to who the their could be! It can't be my sis, she's sleeping and she would never steal our things! … At least, I think…"_ He nodded to himself when he remembered checking in Nya's room.

 _"Well, our theif has to be someone wearing dark clothing, or perhaps is just clothed in black for the night."_

Kai stuffed away the talkie, getting enough information.

"I don't like this Stakeout thing anymore," Lloyd blurted out. Kai turned his head and walked closer. "It's time consuming we could be in bed right now… Can't the thief just come out and admit that he or she was stealing our stuff? Then we all go back to regular normal daily lives?"

"It isn't that easy, Lloyd. The the-"

Lloyd and Kai both jumped when the thunder struck them hard. The sound had hit their eardrums with brutal force and Lloyd toppled over on top of Kai, screaming.

"Yikes! That was startling!" Kai pointed out, brushing Lloyd gently away from him. As he did so, he noticed something sparkling in the middle of the hall. Kai crawled over to it and picked up the small artifact. It was a piece of jewelry - and there was only one person in this Bounty who ever wears some sort of jewelry...

* * *

Zane had drifted to sleep. It had been two hours into the Stakeout and nothing unusual had happened yet. He thought if the others might've gotten better luck.

His first clue was stuffed in his pajama pocket, to ensure that nothing would happen to it. Just then, a voice buzzed in.

 _"Hey Zane, have you found anything yet?"_ Kai asked him, his voice a little muffled.

 _"Unfortunately, no. How about you?"_

 _"Same here… I don't have a single clue though to who the their could be! It can't be my sis, she's sleeping and she would never steal our things! … At least, I think…"_

 _"Well, our their has to be someone wearing dark clothing, or perhaps is just clothed in black for the night."_ Zane informed Kai, setting his flashlight down on the railing.

He waited for Kai to reply, but the Master of Fire never did. Zane figured and he stood patiently, gazing over the rails and into the ocean.

Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder broke through and Zane tensed for just a slight second. He relaxed again and exhaled slowly, relief flooding through his droid wires. The sound of the thunder still rung in his ears, but Zane decided to turn the volume down.

* * *

"Do you think Zane's had any luck finding a second clue?" The blue ninja asked, sitting down in one of the chairs in the Bridge.

"I think he'd tell us if he did. Should I check in with Kai and Lloyd?" Cole lifted the walkie - talkie to begin talking, but Kai's voice soon erupted from the black box.

The two of the ninja sat at the table, listening to Kai and Zane talk back and forth, learning that none of them had gotten a single clue yet. Cole stood up, keeping the flashlight on the table, and headed for the kitchen.

When he came back out, he had a box of animal crackers and shook them as he walked back towards Jay.

"You're such a kid!" Jay laughed and took the box from Cole. He began eating away, always taking off the head first.

"Actually… _You_ are," Cole replied with a smirk and walked around Jay to get some crackers. Just as he was about to feed himself a lion (the animal cracker), thunder broke out and the room flashed in a blur.

Jay yelped and bounced up, knocking Cole backwards. Then realizing he had elbowed him in the stomach.

"Yeah, oww," Cole muttered.

* * *

 **A/N Wow! I haven't updated this for over a month! Sorry for quite the short chapter! There wasn't much to add in this one, so yeaa... I promise the next one will be longer!**

 **And TROLOLOL but Happy Star Wars Day and May the 4th Be With You! (XD did you notice my last chapter 4 for Take 5 was also Star Wars related?)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stakeout - PART 5**

* * *

" _EXCUSE ME_?

"You think I stole your stuff?" Nya barked, her face the color of Kai's ninja gi. "I'm your sister! And you can't even trust me!?" She clenched her fists until her knuckles bled white.

"Well my evidence points to you -"

" _What_ evidence?" Nya put her hands on her hips and watched as Kai pulled out a small jewel from his pocket. She gasped. "Where did you find that!?"

"Aha! So you are the thief!"

Blushing, Nya stammered, "N-N-No I'm not! I never said I was! It's just - the earring is mine! I lost it two days ago and now that you've found it… Give it back!"

Jay pushed Kai out of the way and looked at Nya with sad puppy eyes. "Why, Nya? I love you! But why are you stealing our things!?"

"I never said I was the thief! For crying out loud, guys!"

Kai and Jay began to blow their heads off continuing to think Nya was the person they were searching for all along; while Nya tried to tell the two that she wasn't the thief. Cole shook his head, tempted to stop the noise.

"Guys! Guys!" Cole yelled, stepping in between Kai and Nya. "She made it crystal clear that she wasn't the thief, so would everyone please just shut up?"

They all fell silent and Nya hugged the earring close to her. "I told you, Kai… You can't just jump to conclusions…"

"She is right, Kai." Zane said with a simple nod.

Sighing aimlessly, Kai rubbed his arm. "... Sorry, Sis." He went to give his sister a nice warm hug, and Nya hugged back. After they separated, Kai said, "But we still haven't found out who the thief is."

"And I guess we technically just have one clue now…" Jay chuckled and flailed his arm. "Yay! Isn't that very helpful!?" He groaned in agony.

Cole put an arm around Jay and shrugged. "Just one more Stakeout ain't too bad," Cole suggested, seeing everyone nod in response.

Sensei Wu then walked into the Bridge, bowing his head at the Ninja to say 'hello' or 'greetings'. He then stepped up beside Kai and looked around the group. "Do you six have a plan for catching this thief?" He asked them.

"No, not yet, Sensei. For all we know is that we might have to sit through just one more night," Cole told their teacher.

With only a nod as a response, Sensei Wu left them. But something caught Zane's eye… He hadn't noticed the black fabrics sticking out of Sensei Wu's back before. When did he tuck it in there? Zane stalked over to his room and picked up his pajamas. Shaking it thoroughly, he waited for something to fall out.

Nothing ever did.

Zane's lips thinned, and he remembered the black fabric on Sensei Wu.

It...couldn't be?

* * *

The Ninja still had two full hours left before it was officially nighttime, and Jay was bored. He couldn't play any video games since his controllers wouldn't work without any new batteries. He slumped down on the bed and groaned very loudly.

"Jaaay! Can you stop? I'm trying to focus!"

Jay's head snapped up and he looked across the room at Cole.

"Focus on what, _dirt-fer-brains_?"

"Well I'm trying to read this book, but if you keep up the noise, I dunno what else I can do!"

The Blue ninja swung his feet off the bed and stalked over to Cole, looking over his shoulder. "Whatcha reading?"

"Stuff."

"How about we play a game?"

"No."

"Aww come on… please?" Cole shook his head.

"Jay, I'm trying to read. So could you please leave me alone?"

"Pretty please with a cake on top? And I mean it… I'll bake you a cake if you play…"

That got him real good… Cole bit his lower lip. He could never resist cake. Even just the thought of it made him craving for the frosted desert.

"Uhhh… fine, but just one game."

He stood up and put the book down. Jay was as tall as Cole's shoulders were, he was almost an entire foot shorter than the master of earth. Jay grinned, exposing his bright white teeth. Cole sighed.

"So what do you want to play?"

" _Three Truths and a Lie_?"

"That's boring…"

"Well can you think of anything on the spot?"

"No…"

"Then let's play that for now!"

Cole folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. He took a seat on the bed, and Jay sat down next to him. "Alright, you go first," Cole told Jay, bringing his legs up to the bed.

"Okay, um, one, my first invention zapped me and left a scar… Two, I talk a lot, and three, I save up money to buy tools… and four, I had a pet mouse that my parents never knew about and named it Rob..."

Cole listened carefully to the options. He knew Jay all too well. But the pet mouse he had never heard of in his life. Though all signs pointed to three being the lie. "Number three," Cole said flatly.

"Grrr, of course!"

"Yeah, no way would you save your money for anything but junk food and video games… okay, my turn… let's see…"

The two of them took an extra 6-7 min playing Three Truths and a Lie. Jay lost 2-3 but he was fine with the loss. At least he got to spend more time with his friend. He was enjoying having a moment to bond with Cole. He always found that the master of earth seemed to get annoyed by him the most, but Jay understood. Cole had been the only Ninja to actually spend the most time with Jay. And that was when Jay was first brought in as Sensei Wu's second pupil.

"You're good at this!" Jay told Cole when the black ninja scored another point.

"Thank you, I am a _frofpessional_ …" Cole said with a cocky grin.

Jay snorted. "You said _professional_ wrong."

"And I am very aware of that!" Cole added with a laugh, their backs colliding as they laughed together. Cole looked over his shoulder at Jay. "But hey, what can I say? I have to know everyone of my teammates well enough if I'm the team leader… and I've known you since Sensei Wu first brought you here. I came first, you came second, then there was Zane and then, Kai..."

Jay pushed forward and looked at Cole. "I guess you're right. What time is it?"

"Ten to 10, we should take our positions now." Cole informed Jay and they got off the beds. Just then, Zane barged into the room and he waved at Cole and Jay.

"Hello, I have something I need to inform you two about. I already told Kai and Lloyd, but we need you two to help."

The two ninja exchanged confused faces, "Yeah, sure, what is it, Zane?"

"I have an idea to whom the thief may be-"

"You do?! Who is it?!" Jay asked, feeling the excitement rush through him.

"I cannot say as of now. But I have a feeling you will find out when we put this plan into action," Zane said and added a smile.

"Yes!" Jay bounced around Zane and Cole and then flopped onto the bed.

Cole guffawed and then cleared his throat. "So, Zane… What's this plan of yours? "

* * *

 **A/N a few notes... 1) I felt like this chapter needed some Jay X Cole bonding time. And 2) Did you spot the MLP (EQ Girls) reference? (::) (::) cookies if you did!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know there's been a really tight update schedule. Well, I start my SBA testings tomorrow and I didn't want to leave you readers on the edge for over two weeks! On addition, I only have one chapter left anyway (this one). So please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Stakeout - PART 6**

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 _"Kai, Lloyd, Jay, Cole, are you in_ your _places?"_ Zane asked the group, taking his position in the kitchen.

 _"Er, yeah. So, you want us to stand right by the doors, right?_ " Kai's voice buzzed in as he and Lloyd pressed their backs up to the wall outside and switched off their lights.

Zane nodded on the other end, _"Precisely."_

Zane poked his head outside of the kitchen and saw the series of traps all set up in the Bridge. He had full hope that this plan would work, and he was anxious to see if he was right. But if he was right, the real question was why?

 _"Cole, Jay, are you two ready?"_

 _"Yessiree!"_ He heard Jay say.

The White ninja had noticed before that for the past two nights, nor him or Kai and Lloyd had noticed Sensei Wu slip out of his room. That's because their backs were turned on him, or Sensei Wu had escaped at the right timing. If his guess on who the thief was was correct, they could've just barged into Sensei's room all at once.

However, the first step of Zane's plan was for Sensei Wu to come out. There was no jumping to conclusions…

If Zane's calculations were right, the minute Sensei Wu stepped out of his room, Cole and Jay would somehow push Sensei Wu back into the Bridge. He'd then step on the higher elevated part of the lever he and Lloyd had put together. The lever would send a bucket of Lloyd's old toy snakes towards the top of the light knocking over a net which would land exactly where Wu was standing.

But if that did not go according to plan, there were alternative ideas to catching the Sensei. Which was where Kai and Lloyd came in.

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Cole looked to Jay and signaled for him to turn around. "We need to look like we have no clue Sensei Wu will be coming out," He whispered to Jay and turned around to face the wall. Jay nodded and did the same.

A few minutes past and Jay was about to turn back around until he heard the door creak open. Why hadn't Kai or Zane heard that before? Maybe they zoned out? Jay stood perfectly still and waited till he heard anything else.

There was a soft _thunk_ and Jay bit his lower lip. He looked to Cole but the black ninja did not notice.

Cole's face was still, his eyes shut, waiting for the moment to turn back around. Jay slowly reached over and tapped him. Cole's eyes snapped open and he looked at the younger one. Nodding, they both flipped around but no one was there.

 _"What? Where?"_ Jay screamed in a quiet voice. He took a few steps forward and made it to the end of the hallway, and looked into the Bridge. It was completely deserted.

Cole was about to take a step forward until something dropped from the ceiling. "Jay! Look out!" He warned when the shadowed figure crept towards the blue ninja.

Jay turned around and ducked just as the figure - or in this case, who was most likely to be Sensei Wu - swiped his staff at him. Chuckling, Jay wiped the imaginary sweat off his forehead, but caught himself off balance. He fell backwards, landing on the elevated plank, triggering the trap. The net collapsed onto him and he snapped coldly at himself for being so stubborn.

Cole rolled his eyes, then realized Sensei Wu had gotten away. "Kai! He's on his way!" After sending the message, he flashed the flashlight at Jay's face and ran over to the blue ninja. "Heh, a little stuck there are you?"

"Oh, like you could've done better!" Jay scoffed and laughed. "Just get me out, _Dirtclod_ …"

"With pleasure, _Zaptrap_ …"

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Kai and Lloyd burst through the doors separating the deck from the _Bridge_ and then took out their water guns. (Okay, water guns? Really? It's night!)

"Remind me again why we're using water guns?" Lloyd asked.

Kai shrugged, "I guess since we can't see him, we need to hit him, but we can't use anything too dangerous… other then that, I dunno."

Lloyd felt a splash of cold water on his face. "Youch, Kai," Lloyd said flatly and shook his head.

"It wasn't me! I -" he then realized his water gun was missing. "He's got my gun!" Kai, determined to get his gun back, searched for the lights. He had no clue where they were, and he had no clue if they were clap signaled. He tried clapping but the lights didn't turn on.

Lloyd kept shooting, not sure whether he was hitting something or not. Suddenly, he was knocked to the side and the water gun flew out of his hands.

"Sorry, Lloyd! I can't see!"

"Yeah, neither can I!" He said back and moved his hands across the floor, trying to feel for the water gun.

Kai then felt something rough edged. He moved his hand up and down and then realized he was touching Sensei Wu's staff. "Aha!" He cheered and gripped the staff with both hands.

He pulled back and forcing Sensei with him, but he then felt something oozing under him. He couldn't see it; letting go of the staff, he stumbled backwards and shook his feet. "Gross! What the heck?!"

Sensei Wu escaped and headed for the kitchen, not knowing Zane was in there. When he went in, he walked over to the switches and turned on the lights.

Zane stood there, the talkie up to his mouth. "I've got him, come to the kitchen."

Sensei Wu pulled off his black mask and set the oil can on the table. His body dripping wet from the water.

"Very good, Zane. I am impressed," Sensei Wu said with a fair nod.

" _Gasp_! It _was_ you! But why?" a voice came from behind Sensei Wu. The elder man turned around and saw Jay standing with Cole beside him.

"It was a to teach you five a lesson, and to test your skills."

"Lesson? What lesson?"

As soon as Kai and Lloyd made it inside the kitchen, their eyes widened when they saw Sensei Wu. "It was you..."

"The lesson was never to jump to conclusions. Two of you five did so, but I hope you all learn from this. You must gather enough evidence first, before suspecting anything…"

Jay and Kai exchanged looks and rubbed the back of their necks.

"You all did wonderful - and I hope you all had fun during the stakeout."

That, they could all agree on.

Kai then shook his head, all of this really confusing for him. "So, since it was you… wait, first of all, where are our stuff?"

Sensei Wu motioned to the tin can. "Zane's oil is right here. The rest are waiting outside for you," he said with a smile.

"How'd you get past all of us without us noticing?"

"Easy, none of you were paying attention. Oh, and," Sensei smiled, "you also need to work on that," he added with a wink.

Finally, he yawned and looked to Zane. "Now, I need some rest, and so do you five."

They all nodded and turned towards the door. As they all left, they picked up their missing items, glad to have them back.

Before Cole climbed onto the top bunk above Jay's, he looked down and smirked. "Hey, _Zaptrap_ …"

"Yeah, what?"

"You still owe me that cake."

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 **A/N In case some of you didn't catch the MLP reference in the last chapter (by reading the reviews I'm guessing you didn't) it was when Cole said: _"I am a_ fropessional..." which was a line Vice Principal Luna said in the Friendship Games Bloopers!**

 **And last note: Yes! This was the last chapter! I thank you all for sticking with this story! Peace, out!**


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